In recent years, there has been a demand in the field of food industry on the development of low-caloric, light and soft foods and also to vary the habits of eating and increasing the intention of establishing good health. Also in a whipping cream, attempts to decrease the content of fatty ingredients have been made for the purpose of attaining light flavor and calorie decrease.
A whipping cream is difficult to exhibit stable physical properties after whipping, if the content of fatty ingredients is not greater than 40% (% refers to as % by weight hereinafter), based on the total weight of the cream. When the content of fatty ingredients is reduced, the resulting cream has such the disadvantages that (1) good over-run cannot be obtained unless whipping is carried out for a longer period of time, (2) the whipped cream has spongy properties and no suitable hardness, (3) shape retention is remarkably deteriorated and (4) water separation is easily caused. Further, when the content of fatty ingredients is reduced, since the addition of other solids such as sugars is required, the desired calorie decrease can not be attained.
In view of the above circumstances, the elimination of the above disadvantages by selective addition of particular emulsifying agents at greater amounts is disclosed (JP-A 62-118855, JP-B 63-32421, JP-A 64-51054). Selection of the amount of lauric-type fat-and-fat ingredients contained in the cream and SFC of fat-and-fat ingredients is also disclosed (JP-A 2-100646). As described above, a variety of whipping low-fat creams have been developed up to date.
However, these kinds of whipping low-fat cream have the following disadvantages. For example, in the case of cream characterized by the use of a combination of emulsifying agents, the addition of selected particular emulsifying agents to the cream at great amounts is required for the purpose of attaining stable physical properties of the cream. Even if the physical properties of the cream are said to be stable, this only means that the texture of the cream is achieved with air bubbles held by the function of the emulsifying agents. Such a kind of cream has only a little portion of the original good taste provided by fat, and the flavor thereof is significantly deteriorated by the addition of emulsifying agents.
In the low-fat creamy oil-and-fat composition containing a selected range of amount of oil-and-fat ingredients disclosed in JP-A 2-100646, the solid fat content (SFC) of the oil-and-fat ingredients contained therein is not less than 50% at 5.degree. C. and 30 to 40% at 15.degree. C. Such oil-and-fat ingredients exhibit a relatively gentle curve of the solid fat content (SFC); therefore, even if a cream composition is produced using such oil-and-fat ingredients and then whipped, it is difficult to obtain a whipped cream having sharp melting properties in the mouth with cool feel. This composition exhibits poor shape retention when left to stand at room temperature. Further, with a decrease in the fatty-ingredients content, the physical properties of the composition, such as over-run after the whipping and capability of making artificial flowers (decoration) are seriously deteriorated.